Blast furnace construction



Dec. 2,1941. A. J. BOYNTON ETAL 2,254,324

I BL'AST FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvzamonsart/2w Jfiogrzzorz, BY Harald 1 0 I Dec. 2, 1941. A. J. BOYNTON ET-AL 2,264,824

' BLAST FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS. CZrZhar J Hog/Zion,

ATTORNEYS Dem A. J. BoYNfi-dN ETAL 1 2,264,824

BLAST FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed 001:. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 2, 1941. A. J. BOYNTON ETAL 2,264,824

BLAST FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Dec. 2, 1941 BLAST FURNACE CPNSTRUCTION Arthur J. Boynton, Winnetka, and Harold K. Smith, Chicago, 111., assignors to H. A. Brassert & Compan Illinois Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Application October 2, 1939, Serial No. 297,506

- 2 Claims. (Cl. 214-36) This invention relates to new and improved apparatus for operating blast furnace bells or the like.

The upper closures of blast furnaces, as generally constructed, comprise a large lower bell which closw the bottom of a charge holding hopper and a smaller upper bell which serves to close the top of this hopper and also to close the bottom of a material receiving hopper. The several components of the furnace charge are carried to the furnace top in skip cars which are dumped into the receiving hopper. By lowering the upper bell, the charged material is deposited in the lower charge holding hopper. A charge is deposited in the furnace by lowering the large lower bell. It will be understood that the upper bell is closed during the lowering of the lower bell, the upper bellthen serving as a closure for the furnace to prevent gas and dust being blown from the furnace with loss of pressure therein.

In usual forms of construction, the small bell is supported and operated by means of a tubular suspension rod, while the large lower bell is supported and operated by means of 'a rod. which passes freely through the tubular rod of the small bell. It is customary to connect these two suspension rods to beams pivoted upon the furnace top construction. The beams usually have their other ends connected by diagonally extending cables to motor drive apparatus located in the furnace hoist house adjacent the base of the fur.-

nace. The diagonal stresses which such constructions impart to the furnace top are undesirable and complicate the design of the top structure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved apparatus for operating blast furnace bells or the like adapted to be located on or above the furnace top platform.

It is a further object to provide apparatus of this character which imposes only vertical stresses upon the furnace top structure.

It is also an object to provide means whereby a resilient drive connection to the bell operating Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

We have shown certain preferred embodiments of our invention in the accompanying drawings, in which- I Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view,

partly in section, showing a furnace top and bells with the'invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, on a larger scale than Figure 1, showing the operating means for the large bell;-

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view on a reduced scale, of the bell levers of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an elevation of the bell operating mechanism as seen from the right of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation of the means for connecting the bell levers to the drive mechanism; and Figure 6' is a vertical section of the means shown in Figure 4.

Referring first to the general arrangement of the apparatus as shown in Figure 1, the top H of the blast furnace shaft l2 carries the charging hopper IS. The hopper 13 has its lower end end of the rock lever 22. The upper end of link 20 is pivotedly connected to the link 23', the otherend of which is pivotally connected to the bracket 24 which is carried upon the supporting framework 25. The rock lever 22 is pivoted at 26 upon a supporting bearing 21. The opposite end of lever 22 has the counterweight 28 hung therefrom by the rod or cable 29.

The small bell I1 is suspended from the tubular rod 30 through which the large bell rod l9 passes freely. The top of the tubular rod 30 is connected by the spaced rods 3| and 32 to the arms 33 and N of the small bell lever 35 which is pivoted on the same axis as the large bell lever 22.

sprocket ll supported on the stand 32 carried by the furnace top framework. The spaced arms of the large bell lever 22 are each connected to a lateral connecting link of the shock absorber or spring mechanism 42, which is connected into the vertical run of the drive mechanism 36 located farther away from the levers rock axis.

The construction of this spring connection to the bell drive is best shown in Figures and 6. The mechanism comprises the central rod 43, the lower end of which is connected by pin 44 to the rod section 45 of the drive means 36. The upper end of rod 43 is connected by pin 46 to the double upper chain 40. The stop member 41 is held against upward movement on the rod 43 by the nut 48 and lock nut 49. The sliding housing 50 is provided with the upper hearing 52 and the lower bearing portion 5| engaging the rod 43. The compression spring 53 is fitted about rod 43'with its lower end engaging,

the housing portion 50 and its upper end bearing against the underside, of the stop member 41. The lateral connecting links 54 and 55 are pivotedly connected at 55 and 57 respectively, to the opposite sides of the upper portion of the hens-- The lower ends of the links 54 and 55 ing 50. are .pivotedly connected to the end of the'large bell auxiliary guide lever' 66 as shown in Figure 2. This lever 66 has a divided portion 61 through which passes the near run of the drive means 35.

The lever 66 has its opposite end pivotally mounted upon the bracket 58 carried upon the furnace structure. The end of the small bell lever 35 is similarly connected to the shock absorber 59 carried by the separate small bell drive means 60, which, as will be seen from Figure 4, is substantially identical with that described in connection with the large bell. The side links of. the shock absorber 59 are connected to the small bell auxiliary guide lever 61, the opposite end of which is pivotally connected to bracket 62. The small bell drive means motor 63.

' The operation -0f the two bells by means of the mechanism described is carried out in the same sequence as has been customary in the past. When the desired charge of material has been dumped into the .receiving hopper or chute Hi from the skip cars' l8, the small bell is lowered to deposit this charge. in the. hopper l3 upon the large hell I 4. This lowering of the small bell is accomplished by putting into operation the motor 63 to cause the drive means 60 to move in the clockwise direction, that is, with the near run, connected to the end of the small bell lever 35, moving upwardly. After the material passes from the hopper Iii-into the hopper I3 the small bell I! is raised by reversing the motor 63. This serves to pull down the far end of the-small bell lever 35, thus-raising the arms 33 and 34 of that lever connected to the bell I1 by the rods 3| and 32. As the bell "engages the under face of the lower edge of the hopper I6, the shock absorber 59 operates .to compress its spring, so that the bell is held in closed position firmly and closely. The

drive motor 63 is stopped at this point with the spring under compression. Thisshock absorber 59 is similar in construction to the shock absorbe r 42 shown in detail in Figures 5 and fi.

After the upper bell is closed, the large bell l4 may be lowered to pass the charge from the hopper l3 into the furnace. This is accomplished in the same generalmanner as the lowering of the small dell. In this-case, since the large bell rock'lever 22 is connected to the far run of the drive means 36, the motor 39 is put in operation to move means 36 in the counterclockwise direction so as to raise the end of arm 22 connected.

to the shock absorber 42 which is connected in this run of the drive means. The motor is stopped when the bell is lowered sufliciently and as soon as the material has passed from the bell l4, the motor is putin operation in reverse direction to pull down on the end of the lever 22. Here the spring 53 cushions the closing movement as the bell I 4 engages the lower edge of the hopper l3 and after the spring has been put under proper compression, the motor 39 is stopped.

In the case of each bell the'corresponding shock absorber springs should be put under adequate compression, with the bell closed, so that the bell will support any loads normally placed upon it without pulling away from the associated hopper edge. It will be apparent that, if desired, the springs may be designed to take the place of all or part of the counterweight usually connected to the bell levers to counterbalance the bells and reduce the power necessary for bell operation. In the case of the small bell the counterweight is shown as eliminated entirely in the continue in the plane of the vertical run of the means 36, while the intermediate portions of the links connected to the end of lever 22 take an arcuate path to the right as seen in Figure 2.

The lower ends of these links 54 and 55 are caused by their connection to the auxiliary guide lever 56 to move on an arc of lesser radius. The length of the auxiliary lever 66 is so coordinated with the'distance between the rock axis of the bell lever 22 and the point of connection of that lever with links 54 and 55 that these links are maintained with their point of attachment to the, vertical run of means 35 always moving in a vertical line so as to transmit no substantial lateral pull to that operating means; The small bell auxiliary lever 5| is similarly proportioned to the small bell lever 35 and functions in' the same manner in connection with shock absorber 59.

While we have shown certain preferred structures by'wayof examplefthe present invention may be embodied in other forms and we contemplate such changes and variations as come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

' What is claimed is: h

1. In a blast furnace, a furnace closing bell, a

bell actuating rock lever supported above the bell and connected thereto,;and drive means for the" opposite end of the rock lever, said. drive means comprising substantially verticallymovable means Y comprising a pair of spaced pulleys carried by the tions passing around the two pulleys and parallel runs between the pulleys, one of said runs being connected to the rock lever and a'fixedportion furnace top structure, one pulley located above the rock lever and one below the rock lever and a continuous drive member having flexible por- 10 of the furnace structure by a linkage construction whereby linear movement of the'run between the pulleys imparts an arcuate movement to the rock lever, and means for positively rotating one of said pulleys in either direction.

- ARTHUR J; BOYN'ION.

HAROLD K. SMITH. 

